


A Cranscott Kind of Christmas

by UnicornAffair



Series: Emma Gomez-Hart [23]
Category: Power Rangers (2017), Power Rangers Dino Charge, Power Rangers Dino Thunder
Genre: Christmas, Kid Fic, M/M, parenting AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-16
Updated: 2019-12-16
Packaged: 2021-02-24 16:06:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21820657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnicornAffair/pseuds/UnicornAffair
Summary: Jason and Billy are faced with a tough challenge when Ethan says that Santa isn't real, and Shelby makes it her mission to prove him wrong.
Relationships: Billy Cranston/Jason Lee Scott
Series: Emma Gomez-Hart [23]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1281236
Comments: 10
Kudos: 24





	A Cranscott Kind of Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for a bit of slow updates, life is pretty crazy right now so I've been focusing on some shorter one shots. Trimberly got Thanksgiving, so Cranscott gets the Christmas story.

“Do you kids want to take a picture with Santa? I think that’d make your grandmas happy” 

Jason was tasked with buying gifts at the mall. With stores being overcrowded it was a bit much for Billy to handle. The Cranscott dads wanted the twins to experience Christmas magic rather than sit at home and order everything online...that meant letting the twins try and pick out something to give to Billy, as well as secretly find a gift for one another. The mall train rides as well as soft pretzels were also a huge bonus. The look of wonder in the kids eyes as they walked around a fully decorated mall was worth the aggravation of dealing with crowds of people. Shelby and Ethan would only be young once after all... 

“We’re not  _ babies”  _ 8 year old Ethan scoffed upon seeing the line, most of the kids were under the age of five. “Santa’s not even  _ real” _

“What!?” Shelby’s head snapped  _ so _ fast, her glare icy towards her twin, “Who told you that?”

“Conner” His best friend.

The young girl rolled her eyes  _ so _ dramatically, “Conner’s a dumb dumb. You gonna listen to everything he has to say?”

“Yeah, like…how’s one guy gonna get down all the chimneys and give all the kids gifts in one night? He’s not in the prime of life”

“Duh! Taking advantage of the time zones!”

Jason sighed, rubbing his forehead, he of course was gifted with two brilliant inquisitive minds...oh these were Billy’s kids alright. One full of heart, one full of logic. He wasn’t going to let Ethan  _ ruin _ his sister’s Christmas spirit, “Now, now Ethan you know Santa’s always watching…”

Ethan tilted his head, “Through the ornament in the tree?” When the kids were toddlers, Jason and Billy bought an ornament that was a camera...a way to get the twins to go to bed on time or finish their dinners. Santa’s watching, they’d warn, and point to the tree. It worked wonders when they were little, “Don’t cameras have a little red light when they’re on?”

Shit.

Jason wasn’t quick on his feet like Billy. The twins were the most dangerous when their energies were on the same page. They were tricky and the young man had to be careful of his next words. “It’s run on  _ magic _ not batteries”

_ “Magic.  _ Right” Ethan wasn’t convinced. “Well I believe in  _ science.  _ You can’t prove magic”

“Sure you can” Shelby wasn’t going to let her brother be  _ right.  _ Her competitive drive, and belief in the man up North was enough to not take Ethan’s words to heart, “And I’m going to prove it this year. I’m going to  _ catch  _ Santa Claus. You’ll see.”

Oh boy.

*****

“So you’re telling me that Shelby is going to try and prove that Santa is real?” Billy asked, sitting on the bed. That night Jason wanted to come to his husband and talk about what had transpired at the mall. Ethan vs Shelby. Science vs Magic. Santa vs a world with  _ realism.  _ There had to be something they could do. 

“That’s exactly what I’m saying”

“Ethan  _ is _ right though…” Learning about the truth about  _ Santa _ was a tough blow for Billy growing up, “Do you think they’re too old for Santa?” 

Jason sighed, sitting at the end of the bed, “If Shelby wants to believe in Santa for another year, I say we make that happen.” Shelby and Ethan had already dealt with the harsh realities of the world. Shelby slapped a boy for making fun of her two dads...the world could be dark, and cruel, and mean...Santa may not be a physical being, but the  _ idea _ of him brought joy and happiness to kids. 

“It means we have to out smart our own kids”

“Yeah…” This was going to be much harder than Jason getting into a Santa suit and pretending to be the jolly man in red. If Jason showed up as Santa on Christmas Eve, what would happen if Shelby ran upstairs to try and show her dads only for one of them to be missing? “I’ll stop by the marina tomorrow...get some back up”

*****

While Jason was away the next day, Billy had to entertain the kids. He brought Christmas cookies to the table. What was baking but one big science experiment? Gingerbread, sugar cookies, Billy wanted to make a bunch of different types so the kids could bring small baskets to their teachers for the holiday. 

“Dad” Shelby was too short to reach one of the medicine cabinets, “Can we put something in the cookies to make Santa really sleepy? Or...oh! maybe the milk?” She took a moment to think, “Dissolving in water or baking, what has the quicker effect?” Shelby and Ethan always loved the science museum, and the two were like sponges, loving to learn and always asking questions. 

Drugging Santa that was…. _ one _ way to catch him. Dear God, what was their daughter capable of? 

“If Santa falls asleep, how will he bring presents to all the other kids in the neighborhood?” Billy asked, “Don’t you want your friends to get their Christmas presents too?”

Proving a point or other kids happiness? A heavy question to ask of a young child. Shelby pursed her lips, “Well...Hayley and Hazel’s parents have like  _ lots  _ of money” It was true. With Hazel being a  _ Landsdown _ and Hayley Park having  _ Tanya Park _ as a mother...money or gifts weren’t a problem. Ah, perhaps friends were the wrong way to go.

“What about the kids in the hospital?” Better. Much better.

“....Yeah, I don’t wanna ruin their Christmas...all I wanna do is talk to Santa for five minutes. That shouldn’t throw him off schedule too much” If the man ate cookies at every damn house he went, surely he had the time to humor a little girl’s conversation.

“He’s not real” Ethan teased, “I don’t know why you’re trying” He pulled the electric mixer out of the batter, feeling confident in being right and rubbing it in his sister’s face at every opportunity. “Can I eat this?”

“Nope” Billy was quick to grab the electric mixer, “You can’t eat anything with raw eggs in them, you might get sick”

Shelby sighed, she was going to have to get much more creative if she was going to trap Santa and prove to Ethan that he was a  _ buttmunch.  _

*****

Jason’s relationship with his father had gone through  _ many _ ups and downs throughout his life. When he was a teenager, it felt like a constant war in the Scott home. Sam would always push his son in football, knowing that he wasn’t  _ great _ at academics. Sam and Beverly, as much as they loved their kids, knew they wouldn’t be able to provide enough for them to get through college. A football scholarship was Jason’s biggest hope, and something Sam clung onto. As a father  _ now _ Jason understood where his dad was coming from...even if his intentions at the time didn’t come out great.

Jason felt trapped, drowned in expectations of being the  _ Golden Boy  _ of his high school. Bottling up his anger, coupled with being in the closet made for some risky choices...one prank landed him in the hospital for messing up his leg and a night in jail had to be Jason’s  _ lowest  _ point in high school. He spent the rest of his junior year serving Saturday school detention. It was a wake up call for him. He got his shit together and earned himself a scholarship...if he hadn’t he wouldn’t have met the love of his life. 

It took awhile for blue collar, man’s man Sam Scott to get used to the idea of having a gay son. His whole world was the stereotype of what a guy should be, mixed with his own hopes and dreams for his boy. Marry a girl, have some kids, the standard package of happiness that his own father had stressed on him. More screaming, more anger, Jason and Sam couldn’t even be in the same  _ room _ for a couple of family holidays. The tension was far too great. 

Jason proposed to Billy and Sam had to face a tough choice; to push his son so far away that he wouldn’t be in his life  _ at all,  _ or really give him a chance. Sam, despite the countless teasing at the docks for having a gay son, showed up to Jason’s wedding. He continued to support him, and was thrilled to hear that the surrogacy had gone well. There would always be regrets, Sam and Jason both could have handled themselves better in the past...but the past cannot be changed, it was the future that mattered most. 

“Hey dad” Jason stood on the dock as his father was preparing a fishing boat to set sail, “I need a favor”

Sam could  _ feel _ the other fishermen holding back a laugh at his son, but by now he was a seasoned pro at ignoring them. Some friends they turned out to be. “What’s up, son?”

Once Sam dismounted the boat, he knew that his  _ co-workers,  _ would be going back and forth with sissy bits. Making up reasons for Jason’s arrival. He needed help finding a purse, or finding pants that would make his ass look good. Accepting Jason had really opened Sam’s eyes to how toxic the sailors around him were...how  _ he _ used to be in the past. 

“I need you to be Santa” He didn’t want to ask this over the phone, all it took was Shelby or Ethan borrowing the phone for  _ Pokemon Go _ and seeing a new text message come in. The kids were smart. Billy and Jason were prime suspects in the case of a Santa. 

“Yeah ah I could probably muster up something” Sam rubbed his neck, he didn’t think he was  _ that _ old yet. He patted his stomach, and chuckled, “I’m gonna need some extra padding”

“Thank you...I really appreciate it….” There was a time where Jason wouldn’t  _ dare _ come to his father for advice, or help. “Did you wanna grab a burger?” He offered, he had driven all this way after all...the least he could do is buy his father some lunch. To make up for lost time over a meal and sports center on tv. “My treat”

“Yeah….I’d really like that” The Scott men were in a  _ good _ place, the way a father and son  _ should _ be. 

*****

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, Shelby Cranscott had gone Kevin McCallister and set up traps for Santa to potentially fall in.

“Don’t you want to go upstairs? Sleep in your bed?” Jason suggested as Shelby got her bright pink comforter and started to make the couch her home for the night.

“Nope” She wanted to be  _ right _ in front of the tree.

“Hey dummy, what’s with all of the balloons?” Ethan asked, Shelby had surrounded the tree in balloons.

“If Santa  _ steps _ on one, the loud pop will wake me up” Shelby didn’t think that one through as Ethan could easily pick it up and put it aside. The bright multicolored balloons were easily spottable. “Okay so it wasn’t my  _ best _ idea. I have  _ others”  _

“Uh huh” The confident young boy moved to sit on the other side of the couch, “I’ll stay up with you” He offered.

“Uh butthead, don’t you know how it works? Santa only comes to houses when the kids are  _ asleep”  _

“Cause he’s not real” 

“Ugggh” Shelby groaned, frustrated.

Jason and Billy both knew that an irritated child was  _ never _ fun to deal with, and the best remedy was to take away the source of frustration. “Ethan, go to bed...tomorrow is  _ Christmas”  _ As in the holiday where everyone should be acting like a  _ family.  _

“Don’t want to get a lump of coal in the clutch do you?” Jason added, a knowing smile on his face. If  _ he _ were playing Santa he would absolutely put a lump of coal in Ethan’s stocking just for how he dogged his sister for the past month. Just for the laugh. Obviously the young boy was a  _ good kid _ at heart, even if he was being a brat on the Santa issue...he deserved to have a good holiday as well. 

“On the ...slight improbable chance Santa is real….” Ethan slowly went up the steps, he wasn’t going to  _ risk _ the possibility of getting the latest video game under the tree.

Billy wanted to be the one to tuck Shelby in, letting Jason handle their son for this special evening. “Just a couple more hours” Billy loved the holidays, it meant that he would be seeing his mom as well as Jason’s parents and sister. Billy loved being the host his dad always was during the holidays. With his family being so small anymore...any time together was cherished. 

“You must think I’m crazy” Shelby knew that her father was the big science enthusiast, the inventor, the innovator. Something like believing in Santa must be so silly to a great mind. “Is Santa just a fairy tail? Ethan seems  _ so  _ sure…”

The doubt flashing in Shelby’s eyes was enough to make a father’s heart break. Billy shook his head no, “People thought Newton was crazy for believing in  _ gravity.  _ Just because we don’t always  _ see  _ something with our own eyes doesn’t mean it’s not there. Santa works in mysterious ways”

“But Santa’s just one person…”

“All it takes is  _ one person  _ with a kind heart to do  _ great things.”  _

Shelby smiled, her faith in Christmas magic was starting to restore, “But...if Santa  _ makes _ the toys up north...how does he make electronics...ipads and  _ switch games?  _ Those are... _ brands”  _

“Do you want to know a secret about Santa’s elves?” Billy asked, lowering his voice and leaning in, “They don’t  _ all _ live at the north pole”

“....Wow….mind _blown..._ that totally makes sense” Shelby laid down on the couch, trying to get as snug as possible, with all of her excitement it was tough to try and _fall asleep._ “...Goodnight dad”

“Goodnight Shelby, I love you” Billy kissed the top of his daughter’s head, “I’ll see you in the morning” He was sure that the twins would be up and at ‘em first thing in the morning to open up the gifts underneath the tree.

*****

_ CHINGALING A LING _

Shelby was awoken by one of her traps a clear fishing line tied up jingle bells. She sat up immediately and grabbed a red flashlight to shine in the direction of the sound. 

Please don’t be Ethan pulling a trick.

Please don’t be dad being an idiot and trying to sneak christmas cookies away from Santa.

“Whoa young lady, watch with your brights” Followed by a chorty, “Ho ho ho” That really sealed the deal for the young girl.

It was him! In the flesh! Shelby was quick to lower her flashlight in favor of turning on a nearby lamp. Before her stood, in the famous red suit, a man not as heavy set as told in the legends. He was more fit, must’ve been from hauling all the presents around. 

“Santa?” Shelby was in shock, “Is that really you?”

“Why of course” He had to set down his bag in favor of crouching down to the young girls level, “Ho, Santa’s knees aren’t what they used to be. Don’t get old Shelby, s’not fun”

“I gotta get Ethan…” Shelby murmured to herself, “I gotta get dads” They needed to see this. “Santa would you like to take a break and have some cookies? I made them especially for you” And they didn’t even have crushed up sleeping pills baked inside. “Do you like ginger snaps?”

“I  _ love _ gingersnaps, how did you know that?”

“Well, it was a hypothesis that you like ginger flavored things because around the holidays everyone is always making  _ gingerbread  _ houses n’such”

Santa blinked, “Hypothesis?” Sam knew that Ethan and Shelby were smart cookies but he didn’t realize how big of words they threw around the daily. “My, you are your father’s daughter” Not Jason of course, Billy...his son married  _ well.  _

“Please, please stay right there. I have to prove to my brother that you’re real!” Shelby started to rush forward but found her feet getting tied up by invisible fishing line. 

_ CHINGCHINGCHINGCHINGCHINGCHING. _

The sound of the constant bells ringing from downstairs was enough to wake the men of the house. Playing the part, Jason was sure to come down first, a baseball bat in hand. “Shelby? Are you okay?” 

“Santa’s here!”

“Santa? No way!” Ethan ran past the safety of his father Billy and whizzed right past Jason so he could see that the intruder was actually his twin sister tied up in a fishing line. More importantly, Santa Claus himself. “But  _...impossible.  _ Conner said you don’t exist”

“Yeah well if  _ Conner _ jumped off a bridge, would  _ you?”  _ Shelby was now at cloud nine,  _ she _ was right and  _ he  _ was wrong. How the tables have turned.

“No need to get snippy with one another. That’s not what Christmas is about” Santa finished off a cookie and patted the stray crumbs out of his beard. Before the kids could even say the word  _ presents,  _ Santa was already rummaging through his bag. “Now even though I’m going to give these to you  _ now _ you can’t open it until Christmas”

“What? Why not?” Ethan frowned, it was almost mean to dangle new presents above these kids heads for them to  _ not _ be able to tear apart the wrapping.

“Because not everyone is here!” He started to pull packages out of his sack, “Now who will be a good helper to put these under the tree? Ethan?”

“Yeah….” He was still dumbfounded that Santa was living, breathing, and talking to him. After everything he said this past month, he wanted to earn some good karma, “Of course, Santa” Ethan took one box at a time, “There’s one for Shelby, and Dad...and other Dad...Grandma Bev and Grandpa Sam...Gran Candace...Aunt Pearl” Whoa, he was the real deal. How would Santa know that they were going to have the extended family over?

“I didn’t forget you kiddo” Santa handed Ethan a small little box, all wrapped up with a neat bow on top. “This one’s especially for you”

Ethan wasn’t dumb, he knew what kind of cases video games came in...and something about Santa felt so familiar. “...Santa...if you make  _ toys _ up north, how do you get video games?”

“Duh” Shelby laughed, resting her hands on her hips, “Do you think _elves_ _only_ lived at the north pole? Don’t believe everything you hear from _stories.”_

“Huh” Ethan supposed that made sense, “...There must be a lot of elves in Japan…”

Jason exchanged a glance with Santa and shrugged his shoulders, it was best to just  _ roll  _ with it. 

“Ah Santa, don’t you have to go to the other houses in the neighborhood? We shouldn’t keep you...the kids still have to go to sleep” Jason hoped that this would be enough  _ Santa _ for Shelby and Ethan.

“Oh I’m afraid you’re right” Santa tapped his watch, “Time’s not always on my side and there are many other boys and girls that need their Christmas magic as well” He motioned for the twins to come to him, “Give Santa a hug before he’s off” Because Santa would be one to speak in third person. “And I want you two to go back to bed, it’s going to be a big day”

Shelby and Ethan weren’t going to say  _ no _ to an exclusive hug with  _ Santa. _ The old man held onto those kids tight before having to pull away and pick up his sack. “Until next year!” 

When Santa started to head to the door, it was Shelby who had to question. “Santa….why don’t you use our chimney?” Santa Claus doesn’t use  _ doors _ not when there’s magic.

“Ho ho ho ho ho” Santa continued to chuckle while staring at Jason….what was he supposed to say? There was no way Sam Scott was going to climb up a chimney, even if it were for a few seconds to appease the kids.

It was Billy who stepped into save the day, “Shelby, Santa doesn’t  _ have _ to take the roof anymore because we’re not in the olden days anymore”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, back when Santa  _ first _ started to fly his sleigh it was when people would dump their feces out of their windows and onto the streets. Santa only used roof travel to avoid the plague.”

Jason didn’t know  _ what _ to say, he simply brought a hand to his mouth, his eyes wide with anticipation to how the twins were going to react.  _ What. _

“People kept poo-buckets!?” Ethan exclaimed in surprise, “Ugh” How the times had changed.

“...Merry Christmas Cranscott Family!” Santa waved, not wanting to make a single comment on  _ that _ front. It was best to bow out quietly.  __

Once the door shut, Jason clapped his hands together, “Well, you heard the man. Chop, chop”

“Ah...wait….” Ethan couldn’t end the night on this sentiment, “Shelby, I’m sorry I ever doubted you” He had to say the hardest words he could muster, “You were right”

Shelby wouldn’t let him live this one down, not for awhile, “I know” Not one to totally rub it in his face, she then walked over to the cookie dish, “Dads...can we stay up a little longer? Santa left some cookies...maybe we could watch a movie?”

“What do you think?” Billy asked, turning to face his husband.

What he couldn’t say out loud was that a movie would be a perfect way to bring down the energy in hopes that the kids would conk out and go to sleep. “A family movie? Sounds perfect to me….but Shelby…”

“Yeah dad?”

“Clean up all your Santa traps”

**Author's Note:**

> Have a happy holiday y'all!


End file.
